Tategawa Shinji
by Marwil
Summary: A war is about to begin. How will our heroes fare? Who is the real enemy? or should I say enemies? hehehe....watch out for the next chap. Fight scenes! New chap!
1. The mission

**_Writer's rants_**

_Hey everyone! New story and it will be updated every two weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience but I'm out of money for my Internet card. I'm stocking up on coins. Imagine that! Coins! And no, no diclaimer. We all know I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Oh well, here's first chap._

**

* * *

The Mission**

"Old man! One miso ramen please!" said Ichiraku's ever loyal customer. It was a nice morning and Naruto had just taken a break from his training. And what's more enjoyable to do than to eat his favorite Ramen at his Ichiraku's.

"Here you go. Eat well."

"I will." The blonde was watering over his fresh from the pan ramen. "Itadakimasu!"

And he stuffed his face with food. Devouring what is on his bowl. Before long he finished his bowl and went to pay for his food.

"Only one bowl? Don't you like my Ramen?" The old man was wondering why the blonde, who is known to be a ramen addict, is now satisfied with one order of ramen.

"I don't have money left to pay for another one!"

_Damn that pervert! He wasted my money on those bars and girls. Now all I have left is not enough for even two orders of ramen._

"You don't have to shout. I can hear you very well." The old placed another bowl of Ramen in front of one, if not most, loyal customer of Ichiraku. "Here. Have another one."

The blonde's mouth watered. _Is this for free? _"Are you really serious? I don't have money left."

"Yeah. Its free. You're gonna be training after this right?" The Kyuubi-holder nodded. "Then you're gonna need energy."

"Yo Naruto let's go." Said a man. There was a boy with him.

"Ok." The blonde said as he devoured the ramen. He left money and thanked the old man. And then, a whirl of leaves.

_Where is that idiot? He should be here ten minutes ago. _Sakura was beginning to worry that Kakashi's tardiness is rubbing off on her teammates. _Even Sasuke-kun isn't here._ She rested her back on the wall of Konoha's outer wall. They were to meet at one of the gates of the city. She then took out her mirror and combed her hair. _I have to look good for Sasuke-kun._ She then felt someone touching the tips of her hair.

"You have split ends."

She looked up and there he was, Kakashi-sensei, late as usual. Smiling as widely as his face can would allow. His smile looks mischievous and she doesn't like it. She could sense that she won't like what he's going to say. She filled her lungs with air.

"Where's Naruto and Sasuke-kun?" She was tensed and she didn't like it. How she wished her team mates are ok.

"They went earlier. I thought it be more advantageous if they were at school for ordinary people and acclimatize themselves to the culture their. You, on the other hand, do not need that for I think you will adjust more easily than they will."

"What? But sir. I-I-I…"

"Don't worry they'll be fine."

"I hope so." Sakura was beginning to wonder what the mission was. "What is our mission sir?

"Collect data about Tategawa Shinji to be used as evidence by Konoha Ninja's in court when they file a case against him."

Sakura's face told its lookers her confusion. "Why are we to do that? It's a high level mission and he might be dangerous if we still need to find evidence against him, which Konoha nins are very capable of doing."

"That's exactly why we're doing it?"

"Huh?"

"All other ninja's are busy with their own missions and the rest are gathering evidences. He's a clean assassin. He kills but doesn't leave much to be suspected. They need all the help they can get."

"So we're helping build up a good case against him?"

"Now we're on the same page."

"Why're you late then?"

"Same reasons."

_Baka_ she thought. His sensei hasn't changed a bit. He's still late. _I guess we can't have everything._

**_

* * *

Writer's rants_**

_New story! Hehehe… Now I have to make 4 chapters every night. I make chaps every night but I don't finish them all in one night._


	2. In a New Village

_**Writer's rants**_

_Hey hey hey. I've gotten used to writing hey. I have to think of a new expression. Nywayz, this chap includes my fave comic duo, Naruto and Sasuke! Why comic? They're fights are… you have to read to find out. Now read._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Naruto or any of its characters._

* * *

A raven-haired boy was walking silently down an old rundown street. There were many dilapidated apartment buildings, unused apartment buildings, and there was an old house that no one seemed to dare enter or even go near at. The boy walked slowly, with a map in his hand. He looked around for some landmarks. He looked around and there was this bent street lamp. He was there. He looked around. The people were all staring at him.

"What is he doing there?" He heard one say

"I heard there's another one in that house." The other replied.

"You mean they're gonna live there?" One was in shock.

Many stared at him and the house as if saying that that house is cursed or something. The wind blew at the branches of the old fig tree that grew in the yard of the house. They made a shrieking sound. The leaves were swept up into the air by the afternoon autumn breeze. He looked at the door and read the hastily made sign hung by the doorknob "CURSED DO NOT ENTER." He walked on the stone path and made his way to the door.

"Dobe!" he said "open up?"

"Who're you" the blonde said in a shrieky voice. "I am the ghost of this house. If you enter in here, you'll be cursed forever."

"Yeah right" Sasuke shook his head "And I'm the frog prince. Open up dobe."

"oh, is that you Sasuke-teme?" Said the familiar voice. "Wait, I'll just unlock this old hag."

Rattling of chains can be heard, followed by some momentary silence and the chains clanged again. Then, squeaky unbolting of the door. It was, at last, open.

"Don't you know how keep a house clean?" The floor was full of instant noodle wrappers and Pepsi cans. The dobe, I mean Naruto, was holding a part of a small chain used to lock doors.

"Sorry teme." He said sheepishly.

"Shut up dobe." He quickly replied. He dropped his backpack and searched for his wallet. He put it in his side pocket and said. "Get ready, we have to enrol ourselves now."

"hey bastard, I'm ready to go."

Sasuke's eyebrows seemed to meet together at the sound of Naruto's new word.

"None of your business. Let's go." The blonde kept to himself the fun he had when he saw that look on Sasuke-teme. He stifled a laugh. His shoulders were shrugging up and down uncontrollably. His hands covered his mouth and his face looking down. The dark haired Uchiha couldn't take it anymore.

"What is it?" he faced the now smiling Naruto. The blonde opened his mouth to answer.

"I-I" but then he laughed out so loud that everyone looked to their direction. Sasuke's eyebrows almost unified at his dobe's laugh. He grabbed the blonde at the collar and shook him up.

"Would you stop that? We're not supposed to be conspicuous." He glared at the kyuubi-holder.

The dobe, I mean the blonde, took the dark haired boy's hand off him.

"And whose conspic-o-whatchamacallit now?" the blonde said, holding his head up high.

The Uchiha shook his head and grabbed Naruto by the wrist. "We need to enrol ourselves before we FAIL this mission." The blonde tagged along noisily but to no avail. He thought about using the Kyuubi's power but he knows he better not. The people looked at them in an adoring manner.

"Aren't the lovebirds cute?" One said.

As the lovebirds were fighting, a guy bumped into Sasuke and ran off.

"How rude. They're always like that."

The dark haired boy ran after the guy and jumped on him. He took his wallet and went off.

"Hey, that wasn't nice. Give the guy's wallet back."

"No dobe. This" he held it to Naruto's face "is mine. He took it when he bumped into me. See?" He opened it up and showed the pic on the wallet.

"Wow Sasuke-teme, you look cozy in there huh?" Pointing at the pic of the three, Sasuke was in between Sakura and Kakashi, tightly squeezed.

"Let's go." The raven haired boy's cheeks turned a light pink. And they went off, still fighting but that's the way their friendship works. Oh well, let's just leave 'em alone for now.

**_

* * *

Writer's rants_**

_Finally the second chap is finished. I'll be working on the 3rd and 4th chaps. These chaps take a long editing to finish and I still am not sure if this is good and the spellings are right(most are wrong hehehe… My checker's down. No way to check spellings). Yay! Gokurosama!_

**Writer's Notes**

_This one's not like the other that will be most likely 7 chapters long. This one will be longer than that although I can't figure how long. _


	3. Newcomers

**_Writer's rants_**

_Hey everybody! I had a little problem writing this chap because for a moment I had experienced my hare of writer's block. I'm finishing my other story so I apologize for keeping you waiting this long for an update. Hope you like this one._

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto and any of its characters. I own Tategawa Shinji. _

* * *

A dark-haired boy smelled something good lying next to him. He's still sleepy so he didn't bother opening his eyes to take a look. He embraced it and felt its warm presence. He advanced towards it, bringing his face close. _This smells really good. _"What a good way to start a day." he whispered. He then heard a giggle. _Who is that?_ The voice was coming from beside him. He opened his eyes.

"Sasuke-teme, I know you don't like girls. That's a fact. But I didn't know that you preferred boys." The blonde was blushing and grinning. A fist came flying through the air. The bed shuddered with their fighting. The second floor shook. Their fight was worsening by the minute. Then Naruto stopped punching and was, therefore, hit by the teme, I mean Sasuke. The blonde flew to the floor.

"Don't mess with me." The raven-haired boy held his head high.

The blonde sniffed the air.

"What are you doing? Stop fooling around this early."

The blonde continued sniffing, he went outside smelling the air. The Uchiha followed, wondering what the Dobe was up to. They ended up in the kitchen.

"Is that?" Naruto's eyes widened with joy.

"Yes, I'm here. Haruno Sakura!" the pink haired girl said. Naruto, however ignored her and went to see what she was cooking, Sasuke followed. The Uchiha shook his head.

"Oh no."

"Yata! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" The blonde jumped with glee, celebrating the situation. He held Sakura's hand and jumped up and down, circling the girl. She blushed.

"Thank you very much Sakura-chan! You're a lifesaver! Yahoo! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" He continued. While Sakura cooked the meal, the two went to the dining room. Sasuke set the table and Naruto continued shouting Ramen. Then, Naruto's moment arrived.

"Finally," He said, "I get to eat freshly cooked Ramen."

Sakura could only smile at the blonde. She does not wish to start this day with flying fists, though in normal mode she would punch Naruto and tell him to keep quiet. But in this mission, as Kakashi-sensei had told her, they would have to be careful not to let their guard down.

**-Flashback-**

"Sakura, Shinji is a high class criminal." The silver haired jounin said as they leapt to another tree. "It's very likely that he would plot the three of you against each other."

"Yes sir!" Sakura replied, "Though Naruto may prove to be a challenge."

"Especially with Naruto. He is our best asset and worst liability."

"What?" _He is acting weird today._

"I do not really approve of putting you under this condition but shinobi world is in grave danger unless someone stops him, specifically, kills him." A sigh was let out. The air was filled with tension. The jounin had to be serious about this. He's afraid that his team would be…_ No, they wouldn't. I won't allow it. They must live, even if it costs me my life. _He gritted his teeth. How he wished that Shinji would just hand himself in and end all of this.

"Sir, wouldn't you be joining us? I mean, you'll be there, right? You'll save us and get us out of trouble right?" She looked at the jounin. She's really worried.

"Sakura, the three of you would have to rely on your own. I have to stay here to make sure he doesn't attack Konoha at the same time."

"How can he do that? He's in that school right?"

"He might have minions. Plus, I still have missions to complete. I also have to ask around or information about his home base. The three of you be careful with your information gathering."

Sakura nodded.

Their arrival was clocked at 5:30 in the morning. He kissed her on the forehead. _He never does that. This mission really is dangerous._

"Don't worry sir. We'll be alright." The jounin only looked, still worried.

"We'll live through this. We promise." She cupped the jounin's cheek.

"I should be the one pepping you up but I end up being comforted. Sorry for my weakness in this time."

"Don't worry. We'll be alright. I'm confident in the skills you taught us. We'll get through this." _He's so worried._

"Ok. I better get going. Bye." The jounin left, faking a smile.

**-End of Flashback-**

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto was staring at her.

"I'm ok." She smiled. The blonde just shrugged._ Good thing he's dense._

Someone was shaking her by the shoulder, calling out her name. "Sakura-chan. Get up. We have to go to school." Said the familiar dobe's voice.

_Oh yeah, we have to go to school. Damn this mission. I have wake up this early?_ She opened her eyes and found Naruto in his sleeping attire, complete with the ridiculous cap. She looked at the door and a Sasuke in uniform passed by. _Sasuke's hot as always. And Naruto's…_ She turned to the dobe …_Deceivingly cute. _Moments later, they found themselves walking to school. Many people were wearing the same clothes as they are. Some have different uniforms. Even some grown ups are wearing some. She figured some belonged to the same school, others to a different school. The remaining is going to work.

"I never thought walking here this early could feel so good yet so…"

"Nerve-racking? I always feel that way here Sakura-chan. Sasuke-teme doesn't really show if he feels anything at all."

"Kakashi-sensei said to avoid fights. Please stop calling him teme."

"Sure, if he stops calling me dobe."

"Sasuke?" The pink haired genin looked at the Uchiha.

"Hn." He nodded absentmindedly.

A dark-haired boy approached them.

"Are you new to the school? Hi, I'm Murasaki Tsubame." He held out his hand. Naruto gladly shook hands.

"Yes. How did you know we came from the same school?" The blonde asked

"There's only one school in this neighborhood. The other one is miles away. Besides, we have the same uniform and ID pattern."

"Ok. By the way, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and…" Sakura gave him a look that says stop right there.

"I-it's nice to meet you." _Phew, I almost said I would be the next Hokage._

"Nice to meet you Naruto. And you are?" He said, looking at the pink haired girl

"Haruno Sakura. He's Uchiha Sasuke." Pointing at the boy.

"It's nice to have new classmates." He shook hands with all of them.

"Hn." Said the Uchiha. _I don't trust this boy. I feel he isn't what he is showing he is. They must know._ He looked at the two. They were getting along perfectly with the their classmate. The sharingan user looked at the boy. He was wearing the typical school uniform. He had a black bag with a purple swallow on it. He can see hints of a tattoo on the boy's neck. _I think that's the topmost part of his tattoo._

When they got to the school grounds, many students were already there. Sasuke signaled they leave Tsubame to search for their rooms. The two followed although Naruto had to be convinced first why they should abandon their newfound friend, insisting that Tsubame doesn't look dangerous. The Uchiha almost lost his patience convincing the stubborn blonde. Good thing Sakura intervened and convinced Naruto that she will punch him if he doesn't follow. They decided to go in and search for their rooms. They were supposed to attend their classes at room 202-a. They searched the first floor but all they found were administration offices, library, canteen, and all student facility rooms. Sakura mapped the first floor. They went to the second floor. There they saw Tsubame unloading his bag into his locker. The three were not familiar with this at all so they asked.

"What are you doing?" said Naruto

"Using my locker." Replied the dark haired boy.

"Locker? Is that what you call that thing?"

"Yes. Haven't you seen one?" Tsubame said, his face blank.

"Aah, forgive him. He just hasn't seen one. See, the last school he was in doesn't have lockers." Sakura intervened. _Phew, we almost got caught. Narutooo! I'm gonna get you for this _said inner Sakura.

"Let me look at your locker numbers." Tsubame pointed out the location of their lockers.

A blonde girl with shoulder length hair came approached the Uchiha. "Hey there handsome. Want some action tonight?"

_Why you dirty little pest? I'll kill you! _Inner Sakura was in rage while the outer one was calmly taking the girl's hand off Sasuke's shoulder.

"Piss off." The Uchiha bluntly said.

"You can't resist me for long. See you round." The girl went off, sending the sharingan user a flying kiss. Sakura "caught" the imaginary kiss and threw it to the ground. She then began to stomp on it. Naruto only needed to inquire on what she was doing to make her discontinue her action.

Tsubame guided them to their classroom. They decided to sit next to each other on the far side of the room. They ate together on a table where they were the only students sitting there. Everything went well for the day. No mysterious student deaths or disappearance. The dobe, I mean Naruto, got himself detention on the first day of classes for being noisy and questioning the importance of the variable X in their lives, reasoning out that they would not need X to find food, nor can it be turned to money for buying Ramen. Therefore, the two reprimanded him all the way home when he came out. They didn't get the chance to talk to Tsubame, as he was busy talking with their classmates.

"Everything went well. Naruto, I need you to stop getting drawing attention to yourself. Be quiet." Sasuke said.

"Sure. I'll try to." _If not for Sakura-chan, I would punch him in the face._

They went home silently. They did their best to get along, although Sasuke and Naruto were finding it hard not to fight before sleeping.

* * *

"They finally arrived. The next days will sure be exciting. But I have to restrain myself for a while. It won't be long until…" said the male voice. It then laughed sinisterly.

**_Writer's Rants_**

_Whoah! It took a long time to update but I finally finished this chap. Sorry for taking so long. Next chap, fight scenes begin. Sigh I have to research more on fight scenes. _


	4. New Data

The rustling of leaves were barely heard as an unknown person stealthily sneaked up to the front yard of Team Kakashi's house. He performed some handseals.

"_Hitoku no jutsu_" He disappeared into the night. Only his shadow betrayed him, giving away his presence to the any onlookers that might still be awake. He knows this so he checked the surroundings. None was watching. He performed another line of handseals.

"_Mugon no jutsu_" He said in a voice below whisper. As he stepped over the dry leaves, no sound was heard. He went to the door. 'For sure, this is locked.' he thought. And he was right. 'I think _anrokku no jutsu_ will do the trick to these simple lock.' He applied chakra to the keyhole. No sound was heard. He turned the knob. He still can't open it.

"Who are you?" Kakashi tried to speak but his voice didn't come out. He saw the boy turn around and threaded upon the dry leaves soundlessly. 'A jutsu? Then this boy's a ninja. Wait could he be?"

Kakashi watched the boy. He was taking no chances. This boy might as well be Tategawa Shinji. The feared young shinobi from the newly founded Yamagakure. The Yamagakure nin have been known to rival those of Konohagakure's in terms of skill but in terms of raw chakra, they are rumored to be a lot more powerful. He pulled his hitai-ate up, unconcealing his most famous trademark that gave him the title copy ninja, the sharingan. The boy advanced to him.

'If I didn't activate this doujutsu, I will not see him. But can I react in time?' Kakashi jumped back in an attempt to stall the boy's advances. The rumors on this boy was that he can move almost as fast as yondaime. It wasn't true, he now knows that. Sandaime was a lot faster, or is he playing with him?

A barrage of punches went for him. Kakashi dodged all of them. He counted. There were ten in all. 'If it weren't for this doujutsu, I would've been unconscious by now.' He thought. Another barrage came. As he dodged them, a foot swept below him effectively tripping him. The boy stood over him, grinning. He disappeared. Kakashi let out a sigh. A sigh of frustration, of anger. His pride was hurt. He was only played by Shinji! He, the famous copy ninja Kakashi, was toyed at by a mere twelve year old. 'He killed a lot of high ranking ninja Kakashi. You should not be surprised at this.' The jounin's attempts to console himself only made him feel a lot worse. He sighed again. 'The jutsu wore off. Must be because the user went away from the area.'

He walked on the rustling dry leaves, the sound welcoming him. He reached the door. He rapped on it so hard some nieghbors yelled at him.

"Shut the fuck up!" He heard one say. But he didn't care. Someone was unbolting the door. 'Aah, so that's why he couldn't get in. Nice work guys.' It was Sakura. She rubbed her eyes, she was obviously sound asleep when the attempted breaking in happened.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" She obviously is not pleased with this visit. 'If this happened in broad daylight, I would have been happy. But in this late hour? It must be something urgent.' She tried to be appreciative but it was in vain. 'Aaah, hell. He shouldn't have been here at this hour. I don't care what that news is if it has nothing to do with Sasuke-kun.'

"Sakura, I have a very important update on your mission. Its about Shinji." Kakashi said in a serious tone he never uses very early during his conversations with his team.

Sakura's eyes widened. She had been frustrated these couple of days. They had not been able to gather significant information about Shinji. All they gathered was that Shinji took classes here in his kindergarten years then skipped years to become 2nd grade. He then disappeared two months after he enrolled for 2nd grade.

"What is it?" She prepared to listen.

Kakashi's face tensed up. It was definitely something serious.

* * *

Hitoku no jutsu (Concealment technique) - makes the user's body invisible. It is unseen by the normal eye but since the body is still in solid state, the user still casts shadows.

Mugon no jutsu (silence technique) - An area skill, it mutes any sound made in the area.

Anrokku no Jutsu(unlocking technique) - a skill that uses chakra to open locks.


	5. Please believe me

Shinji ran. He ran as fast as he could. He had to get away from everything and everyone he ever knew. Tears welled up in his eyes(well, a little snot was dangling like a wind chime too but that would ruin the moment, wouldn't it? Now, back to the drama.) as he escaped the tragedy that was his town's downfall. It was his home and he loved everyone but he had to go. It hurt to have all the ones you swore to protect want nothing to do with you. They hated him, despised, disliked him. Whatever word you chose, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now. He would be alone. He had to escape from all this. 

The villagers swore they would kill him and the demon inside him. Of course, they only assumed. Nothing was ever inside the boy. but they never listened. They would never listen. Yes, they would hear but would not understand. He had been an unstoppable genius and they misunderstood it when he brought down a famous young man the villagers admired. But of course, he didn't do it just because he wanted to. He had certain things in store that would destroy the village and Shinji killed him before he could put his plan to action. So why didn't he tell them, you ask? He did but again they would never listen. Of course someone had to side with him but the only man who put up with him had been already slaughtered, murdered. His life wallowed in blood all the time. It always had something to do death, darkness, blood.

Akito was his bestfriend and so was Kino, especially Kino. They spent time together, played together, and, as yaoi as it sounds, they bathed together and slept together(in the literal, original meaning of the word, mind you green-minded fools. No sex there and no pervy touchy thingy.-wow that rhymed!-) They even went to the academy together. Tres Amigos, as they would call themselves(they never really understood what it meant thoughpointy-- book's title), trained togetheras well. When they got to be genins, they were separated for they were all too good to be put in one team. Akito was trained by his father, retired ANBU captain, and his brother, newly promoted to ANBU status. He was the one with the most justsus, and therefore, the one with the most reserves of chakra. Kino went to be a med nin. He had all the med equipment one could ask for. His family were either mednins, doctors, or vets. But he also was especially acquainted with senbons, shurikens and kunais. He was extremely accurate when it comes to shots, the sharpshooter med in the team. Shinji was the fastest one in the group. He was part of the Tategawa clan in Yamagakure, there village. He grew up in an environment where life was never treasured. Most of his family members were assassins for hire. He, however, decided to take a different route, much to the dislike of the clan. He wanted to be a shinobi and protect people. But it didn't matter what his intentions are or how hard he tried to prove himself. They always treat him as a killing machine. All evaded him and tried their best to not talk to him. They were too afraid to die. He knew the weak spots of the human body and where to hit and how to tackle a person bigger and stronger than he is.

Soon, the missions dragged them away from each other. He was constanly being put up in C rank missions although he was still knew to the whole thing. He even had been put on a team on a B rank once and had killed a missing nin. Akito mostly did D rank and an occasional C rank, much to his dismay. The missions did not utilize his expertise in long-drawn jutsu combats. One time he killed an unknown shinobi aggressor and proved his strength but that did nothing to improve his mission status. Kino spent most of his time in clinics and hospitals healing people, much to his delight. Though he did missions with fellow mednins, they were mostly sent to places where medical attention was desperately needed. As such they were oftentimes too busy to meet each other. But when they do have time, they often meet up to train and eat and, much to the dislike of their parents, they still bathed together. Malice was non-existent in their friendship as was anger. Envy and jealousy, however, were a different story.

Slowly, the missions of each were being talked to and was the cause of a hidden rift among the three. Akito started getting jealous of Shinji's missions and pointed out that he was far better that the latter at missions as his mission ratings was high. Shinji never contested but Kino never shut up when it comes to insults to either of his friends. He fired back that Akito's were not at all challenging and could be done by ordinary civilians, adding that they only requested him for his good looks, which was true for Akito was exceptionally good looking. Shinji would intervene threatening them that they would not get any food if they didn't stop. The others agreed to stop bickering and start eating.(rhyme!) They were like that every single time they met.

One day, Shinji decided to surprise Akito by paying him a visit. But Akito surprised him more by saying that he didn't want anything to do with him anymore. He had decided that he would go to other villages and expose the Tategawa story and how the Yamakage protected the clan despite its immoral dealings. Shinji tried to convince but one thing led to another as a fight soon broke out and in an instant, the house was destroyed and Akito's corpse was lying on the ground. Shinji sat beside the corpse, stroking the boy's raven hair telling the dead body that everything will be alright, all the while tears unconsciously falling down his cheeks. Kino came to the scene and stared at his friends. Shinji told the story and Kino agreed to help him out. But someone had been a witness, and unfortunately, that was a big fan of kicking Shinji out of the village. And in a moment a shout was heard and they started running. Soon enough, shinobi's went after the boy and he had to fightback, along with his friend. The shinobi, however, decided to let the kid loose and live his shame and be miserable all his life. Shinji begged for death but was not heared out. He was captured and tied to a post with a sign saying he killed his bestfriend. He endured it for two weeks, eating only dog food the villagers gave him. He had to put up with punches, kunais, pinches, and occasional tomatoe throws to his face. They insulted him everyday until one night Kino helped him out. But as fate would have it, he was followed and killed in a battle to let Shinji live.

And now, he was again battling for life as he was again accused of something he didn't do. The window shattered as a figure in a black cloak entered. Brown eyes bore into his as the figure unhooded herself and finger-combed her long silver hair. She was one of those people who clung on to him for protection. She would do anything he ordered but never asked for anything else. She panted as she paced to the couch opposite the window shinji had been staring at for so long. The scene was nothing spectacular, in fact, it was boring. Just a plain pathway and a brick wall. It was the on the back side of the room. Asuka decided to talk the moment she sat on the couch.

"Reminiscing again?" The singer asked

"You finished with your mission with the Kazekage?" He iced in return, not bothering to look at the singer.

"Yeah, nothing spectacular but he knows nothing except that he likes me. Not much of a talker too." She rolled her eyes to the portrait of the last supper, which was oddly placed in the living room next to a blank wall. The picture had been desecrated with roaches roaming all over it and "some" cuts and scratches it received.

"What did you find out?"

"The village had just figured out you were connected with me so I didn't get much. They only knew about the rumor that Konoha had told them and are now sending the comedic trio backup in the name of Temari if I'm not mistaken."

"She's retired. How'd they convince the brat?"

"Got me. But she shouldn't be much of a problem."

"She could actually be for she might not be alone after all" Said a blue-hooded figure. His face was hardly discernible in the dark corner of the moonlit room. Asuka could hardly make out the feet of the man. "I heard someone has been tailing her."

"Could it be Kankuro? Her brother is utterly useless against me alone." Asuka cockily replied.

"But it could be the Kazekage himself or some Suna ANBU's." Shinji interjected.

"It could never be him. It must NOT be him." Asuka said, eyes widened at the previous statement. There was something in those sentences that she didn't like at all. The consequences aren't at all amusing if her fears are realized.

"Only time will tell." Shinji stared outsideas a cat chased a mouse down the narrow hall. The mouse was eventually killed and eaten. Shinji grinned.

* * *

"What? You're lying right?" Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Kakashi actually performed a private investigation and found that Shinji may not be easy to defeat at all. 

"The information was hard to get. If Jiraiya-sama was only there to help, I could've gotten a lot more." Kakashi sighed as he looked directly into the pink-hair's eyes, tensing up his face. "I had a hands on experience a little while back. He was good. A lot better than me so I suggest you do not accept any invitations to a fight and if its unavoidable..."

"We should fight together and cooperate..." Sakura cut him through.

"and try to escape as much as possible. If it requires you to bow down and kneel, do it. You must NOT die. Not one of you." Kakashi eyes were filled with anger with the thought of the three killed by the kid.

Sakura's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure it was him you encountered? You lost? It couldn't be." Concern was clearly noticeable.

"Yes Sakura, I lost." He breathed in deeply, feeling a large burden come rolling down into his team's shoulders. "Come to think of it, he may not be it. But the rumors and the way the boy fought had striking similarities."

"Boy? You mean he's a boy?" Sakura could not believe it. She closed her eyes and tried to process everything. '_If only I had Shikamaru's brain, I would not as bewildered as I am now._' She knew her teammates were in danger now but her mind refused to believe.

"No, this is not true. Its not true! Please tell we're not in danger right now. Please!" She cried out, she did not want to lose her friends. Especially the two boys, though they may fight a lot and are a little obnoxious sometimes, he loved them and she wished they knew that.

"Sakura, you have to believe me. For your own sake. For your team's sake." Kakashi pleaded. He knew this was going to happen but he wished it all to never to but was now unfolding right before his eyes. Sakura raced upstairs and closed the door, crying. The jounin sighed. She had to listen. She has to.

* * *

Meanwhile the two boys heard the banging but Sakura said she's getting it so they stayed. Naruto and Sasuke soon fell asleep, the latter unconsciously snuggled into the blonde's willing unconscious arms. They never knew the awkward position the were into. They would have to find out when they awoke then. Till then, Naruto embraced his "teddy bear" a little more, putting his legs around the "imaginary" stuff toy while the uchiha just snuggled in for more of the warm thing he's in.

**Notes:**Sorry for the long awaited updated took so long that the long chapters took long to make long. hehehe... Sorry for the scene at the end. Just had to insert that for the fight the next morning.

Anywayz, **review or King of Cookies will turn you to a cookie jar.**


	6. The beginning

_It was a dark night. Footsteps of the little child were heard trolling along the way home to the famous residence near the lake. The fan on his shirt bobbing up and down in his gaily aura, excited to see his parents again. Not just his parents, but his big brother, aunt, uncle, cousins. In short, his whole family. As he hurried on, a smile was plastered on his face. He had loads to tell his family. He was number one at school and he attained high grades in the evaluation of skills at the academy. Everyone at school was good to him and they played with him too. He had such fun. Lots and lots of that he could not think of anything that could possibly uplift his mood even more. That was just not possible with the height of his happiness. The child continued strolling along the old streets, paved roads leading the way to the different destinations in the city._

_The night was silent. Too silent in fact for he would often hear the sounds of people talking, arguing, running, walking. However, tonight was a different night. It was too silent and very creepy. Something was not right. He felt it. But alas! He chose to ignore it. It was probably all in his head. Yes, maybe it was all in his head. _

_The wind blew the leaves lying on the floor. Images of his relatives appeared before him and then died the second after. It repeated over and over and over again. He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to scream but no voice came out when he moved his lips. Then it happened. His relatives fell in front of him, dead. He cried thought he had no voice. He cried and cried. He sobbed and sobbed his lack of power. Then these strange eyes peered into his. He ran away from it, in fear of his own life. Then someone wrapped arms around him. He felt safe and content. He felt like nothing will ever harm him. Then an alarm clock rang. 'The hell?'_

The uchiha reached out for the clock, knocking over nearly everything but the clock then a thud came. The ring came to a stop, he returned to the warm arms of the person beside him. '_Who is this person anyway?_' He looked and smiled. He returned to sleep. It occurred to him few moments later.

"Dobeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouted in shock.. How could he, the uchiha heir, like to be hugged by a dobe no less than naruto? It was unthinkable, unacceptable, and most of all, despicable. With the flurry of emotions, he flew a fist right on naruto's face, landing dead center of the bridge of the face. The dobe, err, naruto flew off the bed with a nice thud on the wooden floor.

Naruto stood up, fuming with anger. "So you want a fight?"

Sasuke, heaving, replied. "Bring it on."

And the second floor shook with high intensity on the Richter scale. And, wonder of wonders, the second floor did not break down. It was a miracle that the house was still standing as someone hit a pillar on the wall. Sakura, meanwhile, had learned to live ignoring the noise from the boys' room. She cooked up a nice bowl of ramen while the micro cooked up a nice meal for the normal people, she and Sasuke. She smiled. '_If Lee was here, there would still be two normal people. There's no way he's normal with those spandex and nice guy poses, though he is a bit cute._' She shook her head, shocked at her train of thoughts.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?! THIS MUST NOT HAPPEN AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN! EVEEEEEEEEEER!!!!"_ Inner Sakura said. Outer Sakura stared into space, wondering what was happening to her. Then a ring came. Sakura, in her shock, threw the pot she was cooking ramen in to the microwave over, effectively sending the microwave to a kind of self destruct mode as it shorted its circuits. Minutes later, smoke appeared.

"Oh noooo!" she reached for the pitcher of water from the table and emptied its contents onto the mess. The smoke came out normally as if nothing happened. She looked inside the container and peered at its empty interior. She reached for another pitcher full of water and threw it at the appliance. She sat on the floor in shame.

"_DAMN YOU FUZZY EYEBROWS!!!!" _Inner Sakura rampaged. I'm telling you, she was a scary sight. I'd rather not describe how angry she was, though she was smiling a bit(Sakura: **What! I was not!**). '_Those fools still haven't stopped fighting. The way they're going, the house is gonna go down. I'd better stop them now._' She thought. Looking at the mess she made, she sighed. '_I'll clean this up later. I had better get that fuzzy animal out of my mind._'

Sakura went to check out what was going upstairs in the boys' bedroom. When she opened the door, the boys were still punching each other's guts out.

"Ehem!" she said loudly. The boys immediately froze at the sight of a furious Sakura. Her immense strength could possibly split them in half if she wanted to. Both started blabbering about things about hugging and snuggling. Her patience just ran out of thread, unluckily, for them.

"**I DON'T CARE WHO OR WHAT THE REASON IS! STOP FIGHTING AND START GETTING DRESSED UP! RIGHT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!**" the two staggered into their stash of clothes on the cabinet and quickly got dressed, completely forgetting Sakura's presence. Good thing she left a while after they started. Then…..

"Good thing Sakura didn't go all out on us." Naruto told Sasuke on the way to their classroom. Sakura went earlier ahead of them, leaving the house in a mess.

"Yeah. I could imagine what she could do with that Tsunade-like strength of hers." Sasuke worriedly replied. They shivered in fear. Sakura trained under Tsunade gaining her strength along the way.

-At the end of the class-

Tsubame hurriedly ran to them, begging them to accompany him. Naruto quickly agreed while Sasuke, expectedly, did not and will not agree to it, EVER. They soon found themselves walking down a dark, eerie alley. A cat meowed at them. Sasuke, however, did not find the cat cute. He kicked it out of the way. It hissed at them and the Uchiha hissed back, sending the cat running away in fear of its nine lives. Sakura, amidst all of this, preferred to talk to Tsubame than waste her time reasoning out with the two dobes.

"So what are we doing here anyway?" Sakura asked.

Tsubame seemed hesitant to answer the inquiry. It seemed to occur to the lad that it was not in the best of reasons to tell her that. Logic dawned on Sakura and her eyes widened as the boy dropped his eyes to the ground.

"There's a group of armed people here. I was just afraid to walk here alone. Especially now that they started working. I saw a couple earlier this morning." He worriedly replied. ''

"You two listening?" Sakura asked.

The two just nodded and continued arguing about this morning. Sakura's face reddened with furious rage. The two cowered in fear in their chibi form.

"Yeah, yeah. If they're ordinary people, they should be no problem." Naruto said. Sakura did not seemed pleased at his answer. The red started coming back. Sasuke whispered. "do not imply that we are ninjas." Naruto gave an expression of 'oh right.'

Tsubame seemed to fade into a blank face, devoid of emotions. He started running. Then, men in uniforms armed with shotguns and armalites came forth. They started firing rounds. The shinobis ran on the walls, Naruto earning a graze of bullet on his left leg. Then a figure came and paralyzed them all out with a stare. The figure's face turned to look at them, opening his mouth to speak.

"You're safe, for now." It was a boy's voice. "Get away from here, your friend has been delivered to his destination." In a gust of wind, the figure faded into the darkness. The three came down, confused. Sasuke and Sakura talked about the weird man and where he came while Naruto was trying to figure out what technique that was and saying how 'sugoi' it was.

"Shut up!" Sasuke whacked him in the head. The three came back to their original route on the way home.

"There seems to be a lot, shall we say, unique phenomenon surrounding the criminal's former village. We must be cautious to say the least." Sasuke said to them. And they have to agree. It was quite strange that these occurred right when they came to the town. Sakura expressed her worries.

"What if they are after our head? And if there are powerful shinobis in here, people like those akatsuki?" Sasuke messed up her hair in assurance that nothing of the sort will happen, though he himself believes it will.

Tsubame knelt down before the mysterious figure. The mysterious boy spoke.

"Tsubame, have you befriended him yet?"

"Yes, Shinji-sama. The blonde seems vaguely innocent or, erm, stupid." Tsubame spoke in a low almost whisper like voice.

"Good. We'll deal with them shortly. Though those armed people are not mine. I want to know who they work for." Shinji said, sitting on the sofa, slicing some apples and eating them with his kunai.

Tsubame stood up, revealing an etched konoha forehead protector. He disappeared into the ground in a pool of whirling mud. Then, the mud disappeared without a trace on the marbled floor. Asuka appeared from the door in a hanging sleeveless shirt, ultra short shorts and a pair of rubber flip-floppers. Shinji, however, did not seem vaguely interested, continuing his dinner. She sat down beside him.

"Oi cuz, what plans do you have for the boy? You do know that…." Shinji cut her off.

"I know what I'm doing. Go to hell." Shinji reached for another plate of apples through his mud arm emerging from the ground. He threw one in the air and in a split second, it was peeled, sliced and diced into nice little cubes. He poked them with toothpicks into his mouth.

-Somewhere-

"Shinji is here, aye?" a coarse voice grunted. "Well, it seems he's grown quite nicely to my taste."

"Yes master. He knocked us all out with genjutsu binding technique. It was unbelievable. Its strength was Sannin level. We couldn't have unbinded ourselves even if we could. It was just a not normal genjutsu kanashibari." These people normally know how to get out of the binding in a second. "there was extreme fear running through us all even after you cancelled the technique."

The next thing the man knew was huge gaping mouth swallowing him whole. The coarse voiced master laughed a sinister laugh.

In a house not far from those people. A knock was heard, coupled with a few whistles(the ones made by men on pretty girls). Naruto opened the door and stared at the visitor.

"Hey, aren't you gonna let me in?" Temari said. She was wearing a knotted light blue blouse, revealing her mid-section, and a white, tight, short shorts reaching up to six inches… above the knee.

"Oi, dobe, let her in. Stop drooling you blabber-mouthed fool." Sasuke said, revealing his vast repertoire of insults.

Naruto doesn't seem like getting over it soon so Temari let herself in, pushing the dobe, err, Naruto aside.

"Oi teme, shut that big mouth of yours you whiny psychopath." Naruto replied

"Oi, you asking for fight."

"Get it on." And the normalness of the house was there yet again. It was normal that the house shakes every now and then. Temari seemed unaffected, probably used to this sight after years of experience. There was no way no one could stop this habit of theirs. She dropped her bags and helped Sakura in the kitchen.

"About the reason you're here?" Sakura asked

"Well….."

In a mansion, men cloaked in black with red clouds were meeting together. They took their conspicuous cloaks off and revealed casual clothing. Itachi, not used to not wearing the clan shirt, was scratching himself every now and then. He was wearing a wooly shirt. He took it off in frustration and showed off his sando. He sat in his chair next to Kisame, wearing a black shirt and white shorts. All of them in henge so no one will notice. The meeting went on.

It looks like something big is happening to this town(yeah and that includes the fiesta. Yay! Fiesta! Sasuke whacks author in the head. Sasuke**: Get back to work. **Me:**Why's everyone whacking me? Huhuhu…..Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! **Sakura punches me into outer space. Good thing I'm alive, I think.) Nyways, a little war is going on and jounins are flocking to the scene in future eps.

Till next time.

(Joins the fight of Naruto and Sasuke. Me: Oi, this is fun.)


	7. An attack

"So Gaara is sent you here as reinforcement?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes and no, I'm not the only one. We will be battling a dangerous team here. Information retrieval is not an easy task when it's about dangerous criminals like him." She said, "There will be others though I can't say who. Kankuro's busy right now. He's helping the kazekage in Sunagakure. Though he might be replacing Gaara for a while, that's for sure. He said he will go on an important mission." She scratched her head as she continued stirring the curry they're currently cooking.

Sasuke and Naruto, meanwhile had stopped fighting, finally. They were sitting on the sofa, catching their breath whilst talking about something. Though it was strange for the two to get along so easily, the girls didn't mind them for they fear the fighting would resume.

"What? You don't mean that, do you teme?" Naruto pleaded. Sasuke's face was stern with no sign of hesitation.

"If that is true then this is an S class mission, ne?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded. Clasping his hands in front of him, he began to speak.

"I asked Kakashi-sensei what he thought of Shinji's fighting style and he said it was fast. Too fast for him to catch up. He didn't even have time to activate the sharingan. I found out the other day that he went to that school we're going to."

"So?" Naruto scratched his head.

"He's a consistent A+ student, graduating with a record setting academic performance." He said

"So it means….."

"It means he's a super genius. He accelerated from first grade to first year high school then to fourth, all the while maintaining his A+ academic career and perfecting all exams, even math exams. He's also a top athlete. He is part of the dance club, chess club, .tennis club, drama club and the debate club. He was also president of the student council. We have to be very careful when dealing with this guy."

"I get it. So what does all those clubs mean anyway? And what's chess?" the dobe, err, Naruto asked.

Sasuke explained, then decided to buy a set from the nearby bargain store. They have plenty of those there. They played chess and, as expected, Naruto lost. However, he never gave up and kept on trying. That is, until a knock on the door came. Naruto quickly opened the door. It was Tsubame, with a package in his hand.

"Hello, Naruto. I want to thank you for saving my life back there." he said, handing the package to them. "I bought that from an antique shop and the old man said it was a perfect gift for you two."

"You didn't need to do this but Arigato Gozaimasu!" Naruto said with much glee. He excitedly opened the package and found a Go set complete with the manual.

"Come in!" he said, earning a disapproving look from the teme, err, Sasuke.

The girls looked at Naruto in a not-so-good way. The blonde, however, was as oblivious as ever. Not even knowing or feeling the stern looks he's been receiving. Then as Tsubame and the dobe sat on the sofa, a loud explosion was heard just outside.

'_Wow. They're right on cue. Time to do some acting. I do hope they don't notice. I will enjoy beating up these bastards, though I can't use..._' Tsubame thought, running outside to "find out" what's going on. Men in black suits similar to those they encountered a while ago were standing there. One had a single-rocket launcher, and other a rifle, others had high caliber guns, armalites, and grenades.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A hundred Narutos appeared and disarmed the poor idiotic fools, I mean people. The clones beat up the people in no time. The kage bunshins disappeared in a poof of smoke. Naruto went to Tsubame.

"You ok?"

"Yes, thank you." Tsubame replied. Then a weird wooden noise was heard.

"Naruto!" Tsubame pointed at the men Naruto beat up few moments ago. They were getting up as if nothing had happened. The door opened wide.

"Dobe, they're human puppets." Sasuke said. His sharingan already activated.

"Good, then they're easy to defeat." Naruto smiled "Where's the controller?"

Naruto created another hundred kage bunshins and attacked the puppets. The puppets never seem to die, nor do they seem to break either. '_This is embarrassing. Tsubame will think I'm weak. Damn it!_'

"By the bushes. But….." Sasuke stammered. Naruto looked behind, waiting for the Uchiha to complete his sentence

"But what?" Naruto said as he continued creating bunshins and repeated the cycle of puppets beating, puppet self-revival, and more bunshin creation.

"He seems to be almost puppet-like. Half of his body's made up of wood and he's inside a big puppet too!" Sasuke said, confused at the familiarity of this puppeteer to him.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto created bunshins and started molding chakra. "Sasuke, I need a fire technique!"

"Sure thing, dobe." Sasuke formed handseals.

"Fuuton, Rasengan!" Naruto cried out.

"Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Sasuke blew fire from his mouth.

A whirlwind of flame engulfed the human puppets and burned them to a crisp. The bodies lay on the ground, black as ashes. Sasuke pulled Naruto away and into the house. He went to the middle and formed handseals.

"Raikiri, Disperse!" Surges of electrical bolts found their way into the bodies of the puppets. They shook to the power of the technique. Explosive notes flew to the bodies, a cry was heard.

When the smoke cleared, a whirl of mud formed a protective wall barrier against the impact of the explosions. Tsubame looked shocked; he had to pretend to look shocked. Why? Time will tell. Naruto looked impressed.

"Nice one, teme. When d'you learn that?" Naruto said.

"Doro Kabe no jutsu." Sasuke smirked a very arrogant smirk, though he knew Naruto will not be affected; He's immune to it or more like used to.

"Oro and I traveled a lot and this is one of the techniques I copied." He said "We made a great combo with my technique, though I liked our combination better."

He smiled at the dobe, face still stern.

"You asked what the next words to my former sentence?" he said. "But the controller seems to have come back from the dead. He can't be alive. I remember him killed."

"Who is he anyway?" Naruto asked.

"He's….." Sasuke replied, looking at a distance.

**Hehehe…. I have to leave it at that. For those who knows who the person is, sshh. For those that don't, Watch out next chap. Till then, bye!**


	8. Sasori

"Who is he anyway?" Naruto asked.

"He's….." Sasuke replied, looking at a distance. "Sasori."

"Saso-what?" the dobe, err, Naruto stupidly said, scratching his head.

Sasuke frowned at his best friend's naivety. "Sasori. I heard you faced him during a rescue mission."

Naruto was about to speak when the wooden fence next door creaked opened. The three looked over the source. Naruto got out his kunai.

"Tsubame-san, hide. Tsubame-san?" the person apparently disappeared. "the hell?"

Wooden noises were heard, stamping on the grass-deprived ground. A wooden puppet beast appeared before them. The man, if he can still be called a man was made of wood, complete with a wooden tail. He has a human face though, and a human chest but everything else is wooden in the manner of a puppet beast. His mouth opened to speak.

"I am Sasori, foolish boy. Remember?" he grinned. "maybe this will refresh your memory."

Handseals were formed whilst a single drop of blood came from small vial. He stamped his hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A group of ten puppets appeared before them, each holding a Katana (it's a sword). They started attacking.

"Aaah yes, I remember you. Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" hundreds of naruto's formed. "Yeah, you're the Akatsuki Sakura-chan killed, ne? How come you're not dead?"

A burst of flame engulfed the puppets. "Katon, TaiRyuuka no jutsu!" The Uchiha said, the puppets were now on fire. He grinned at the puppeteer. "Worthless."

"Really? Look again." He said, wiggling his fingers. The puppets were spinning violently and the flames were dying out. Moments later, they were free of fire. They appeared unscathed.

"What the?" Sasuke said, puzzled. "How come?"

Meanwhile the kage bunshins were quickly disappearing one by one. The puppets were just too quick for them, add the slicing edge of the katanas they wield equals destruction for the clones.

"You think I haven't thought about the combustibility of the puppets? Think again squirt. You two can't defeat me even if you gang up on me." A confident laugh erupted from the Akatsuki's mouth.

"Oodama, Rasengan!" Naruto attacked a puppet and pulverized it. The dobe continued to attack the puppets when the puppets started ganging up on him. Naruto was almost cut if it weren't for the puppets flying ability. '_Wait, flying ability? I don't understand._' He thought. He looked and Sasuke was kicking the puppets' butts with his taijutsu and katana. Sasuke nodded and the blonde understood. The blonde continued hitting the puppets with Oodama Rasengan while Sasuke continued his work. The puppets were closing in on them but they were able to pull through with much cuts and bruises. Then Sasori ran away. Naruto ran after the Akatsuki.

"Come back here you coward!" he said, running as fast as he could, Sasuke running alongside him.

Sasori threw a kunai at the blonde. Naruto readied his kunai for counter but Sasuke threw a shuriken at the incoming projectile. Naruto glared at him. Then, an explosion knocked them back about six feet.

"Damn it, he got away." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, Arigatou. You saved my life." Naruto said bowing in gratitude. "I owe you one."

"Yeah you do so get out of my room." He said, smiling. Naruto just shrugged it off.

Meanwhile, the neighbors were all staring out their window and many called the cops, while others looked, still others shot them strange looks, some saying bad words, others thanking them. The two went back inside. Food were on the table and the girls were just finishing setting the table up.

"Boys, dig in." Sakura said, Temari already sitting on the longer side of the rectangular table. The two joined in. Sakura sat beside Temari while Sasuke and Naruto sat parallel to the two in the order given. As the were eating, Sasuke spoke.

"I don't trust that Tsubame. I think he's hiding something from us."

Naruto frowned. "He's a nice guy. I don't think he's bad guy. He doesn't look bad to me." He replied.

"Nobody looks bad to you. Just eat." And they did, Naruto noisily slurping down his Ramen. "I mean it dobe, out of my room."

"It was never your room. It was mine!" he shouted, effectively raining Ramen noodles all over the Uchiha's face.

"You asking for a fight?!" Sasuke glared, clearing his face.

"Bring it on." They ran to their room and their friendship continued on that way.

It was the middle of the night, Naruto tossed and turned in his sleep. He did not realize the danger his battle wounds would have on his life. The usual fast pace wound-healing powers of the kyuubi seemed not to be working today as they were still there.

-In other places-

Tsubame went inside an alleyway. After a series of turns, he came to a rundown brick apartment building. He went inside and entered the first door on the left. He found Asuka sitting down on the sofa, listening to a small, black, battery-operated radio. He immediately knelt before her.

"Asuka-sama, Where's Shinji-sama?" he asked.

"Sleeping. What'ya found out?" she said, hand-combing her long, silky, beautiful white hair.

"Nothing much but Akatsuki is here. I saw Sasori attack the young genins. The Uchiha seemed to not trust me."

"That is expected. Guard those kids, make sure the Akatsuki doesn't do much trouble to 'em."

"Shall I guard them this night?"

"No. I believe that won't be necessary." She said, all the while eyeing a red butterfly coming to her from the window. "Help is on the way but so is trouble. Their troubles are not over yet."

"Yes, Asuka-sama."

Armed men in suits were running in the alleyways. They were carrying lots of heavy artillery. A logo somewhere on their suits says "Special Force: Elite unit." They were heading for our heroes' house. What will they do? Will the genins' day ever end in peace? I think not for a group of shinobi are also headed their way. How will this end? Tune in next time.

**Ja!**

**Discussion on BF**

**Me**: Sasuke's bf's most likely Naruto, ne?

**Sasuke**: He's my whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! glares at the author

**Me**: I meant bestfriends, you pervert! No need to shout. Sheesh.

**Sasuke**: You did that on purpose you lame author. He will never be MY bf. Never. And I'm not a pervert. red face

**Me**: Oooookaaaaaaaay Ahihihi! rolls eyes

**Sasuke**: He is not, do you understand me? death glares me

**Me**: yeah, I do demo... Why the emphasis on my? mischievous eyes

**Sasuke**: It's... Red face Forget it! walks away in a stormy manner

**Translation**

_Katon, TaiRyuuka no Jutsu - _Fire element, Greater fire dragon missile technique.

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu _- Summoning technique

_Oodama Rasengan _- Great ball, Rasengan

_Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu _- Mass Shadow clone technique

_Ne -_ isn't it?

_Demo_ - but, however, somewhere along those lines.

_Dobe_ - dead last or something of the sort

_Teme _- bastard or something like that

_Katana _- swords used by Japanese samurai.

_Sasori_ - Scorpion, an Akatsuki Sakura and his grandmother defeated. He was a huge puppet. He was encased inside that puppet and was almost wooden all over except for his heart.

_Naruto _- fish cake. Nice name for a lead, don't ya' think?

_Akatsuki ­_- dawn. A missing Nin organization aimed at World domination.

_Tsubame _- swallow. A friend of the Naruto's. But why does Sasuke not trust him?

_Sakura _- cherry blossoms. Uhmm... Sasuke-kuuuuuuuuun!? I think that's enough for her.

_Arigatou _- thank you

_Sama_ - honorary suffix added to indicate that that person is a master of the speaker.

_Chan _- a suffix placed for additional cuteness. Usually used for girls and young boys.

_San _- suffix equivalent to Mr. Or Ms.

_Ja_ - see you, till next time. Till we meet again you get the idea.


	9. KyuubiJinchuuriki at risk

It was Saturday today, which means no classes. It is on this day that most people relax and lay back. But not these shinobi. They have a very busy day today and all have missions to fulfill, objectives to achieve and people to protect. This is the shinobi way of life. They must prepare for certain death everytime they breath. Enemies could and will attack them anytime. That is why they always seem restless. At the house of the konoha and suna Nins, an atmosphere of tension filled the air. The ramblings on the second floor got worse. It was worse than ever. The two somersaulted and punched and kicked, each wanting to beat the other to pulp.

Meanwhile, the girls were cooking breakfast wholeheartedly. Temari now knew it was hopeless to try to get the boys to stop fighting with each other for a day, even for the sake of the ninja world, although they do hope it would happen one day. A loud thud was heard, then silence.

'_The two must have stopped fighting._' Temari thought "I'll just go get the boys."

Sakura nodded. "Please get them to change. I don't want semi-nude people dining in this household. " she said in a tone more commanding than requesting.

Temari smiled and muttered a yes. She walked upstairs, her skimpy jean shorts, white sando and rubber flip-flops doing wonders on her mood today. It was the most refreshing feeling that she feels she could not get upset today. Not a single nerve would be irritated. She faced the door and breathed in and out. She held up her hand to knock but then she couldn't get herself to knock. Ear placed on the door, she started to listen in. The two seemed to be engaged in a serious conversation. '_Was it about the fight with the Akatsuki two days ago? Wasn't that fight an easy one? Why would they worry so much about having a weak opponent?_' She thought. It was simply outrageous but then...

"Dobe, I still don't understand why he let us off so easily. It should have been harder." Sasuke said, heaving.

"Yeah, but we were just too strong for him, ne?" Naruto smiled, his exposed chest rising and falling from tiredness. Bits of clothes were found everywhere. Naruto dreamily looked at Sasuke.

"Stop staring dobe. You're very irritating." He said, cheeks red with irritation. He looked at Naruto. The blonde was still staring at him, those eyes slowly closing in a kind of way lovers look at each other. '_Lover kind of way? It's impossible. Unless..._'

"Oi dobe, are you alright? You're weird today." He said, looking at the blonde in a suspicious way.

"I'm fine. Doshite?" the blonde wearily said

"Nothing" the Uchiha said, not believing the blonde. He's known the blonde from on end of the stupidity spectrum to the other.

Naruto stood up, tearing off the remains of his torn clothes. Their fights really are starting to get serious. His body hurts so much and he feels kinda dizzy. '_must be lack of sleep or something._' He thought, shrugging off the weakness he feels in his knees. He feels like his knees would give way anytime soon. He turned around and found the raven-haired boy already dressed up. Sasuke looked at him worriedly. '_Why does he look at me like that? Is something wrong?_'

"Doshite?" he asked again.

"Nothing. Just go on. I'll be downstairs, if anything." The Uchiha opened the door, then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I said I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm strong as a stool!" he said, flexing his muscles.

The Uchiha shook his head. "Its bull, usuratonkatchi, strong as a bull."

"I am! I'm fine. Believe me, ok?" he said, though he felt he was not but he did not want other people to worry about him too much so he kept it to himself. However, his best friend is hard to fool.

"Mada, mada." he said. '_Wonder what's wrong with him._'

Sasuke closed the door as Uzumaki opened the closet to rummage for untorn clothes. '_I'm running out of good shirts, ne kyuubi-san?_' The intended conversant did not answer. '_Oi Kyuubi-san, d'you hear me? Must be sleeping._' It was fairly odd for the kyuubi not to answer, it mostly answers along with a few insults and evil laugh. Why is it quiet now?

"This day sure is odd. First Sasuke, then kyuubi? I see no connection." He shrugged his shoulders and changed clothes. He placed his hand on the knob and turned it. He pulled the door open, got dizzy and fell back, good thing his right foot swung itself backward to support himself. What was wrong with him? He never does that? '_Oh well._' He walked on, head hanging down. He was having such a headache today or is it a migraine? He never understood the difference anyway so he just called it a headache. He bumped unto something soft.

"Nani?" he looked up and saw a blonde girl with angry eyes.

"Naruto!" she lifted her almighty hands to give justice to this perpetual abuse of her chest.

Whapaack!

"Hmmph!" she said, her slap making a deep red mark on Naruto's face. '_Was it too hard?_' she thought as the mark never seemed to subside. '_Maybe later._'

"Naruto!" she shouted in fear as the blonde collapsed on the floor. Sasuke and Sakura quickly flew to the second floor to see what had happened. They hoped it was nothing serious. There, lying in Temari's arms, was Naruto. He had a deep red mark on his face. The two looked at Temari.

"HewentoutofhisroomandhebumpedintomybreastsandIslappedhimand..."(He went out of his room and bumped into my breasts and I slapped him and...) she said, her words coming out as a bunch of gibberish.

Sasuke quickly stepped in and carried the blonde into the room and laid him on the bed, the girls following behind him. Seconds later, Naruto woke and smiled. "Why're ya'll staring at me like that? And why am I in bed?"

"You're not ok dobe. What is it?"

"What? I'm fine." He said, confused at the sudden worry of his friends. He struggled to sit up, arms shaking as he did so. He rested his head on the headboard. "I'm just a little dizzy that's all."

"You sure?" Sasuke said. The blonde nodded in reply.

"Uhmm, Sakura?"

"Yes Naruto?" she said, her voice shaking, almost faltering.

"Could I have my food in here?" he said, looking at those worried eyes of hers.

"Sure. Right away." She said, walking as fast as she can.

"I'll help you." Temari quickly followed.

The door closed, leaving the two alone in the room. Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed, looking straight into those blue eyes of Naruto's. He inspected the blonde's face. '_What the?_' His whiskers were disappearing. Sasuke looked closer and ran his hands through Naruto's face, searching for telltale signs of the lost whiskers but to no avail. His hands softly trailed away in retreat, in exasperation. As his hands ran over the blondes arm, he felt little wounds on it. He looked again. '_What the? His wounds aren't healing, they're getting a little bigger. What's happening? Sakura must know something._' Naruto never got sick, ever. Why now? Something is not right.

Meanwhile, Naruto was observing how Sasuke was inspecting him, the Uchiha was obviously worried about him. He looked at Sasuke straight in the eye, the Uchiha looked back. Blue eyes bored into those dark, black eyes, Naruto sensing his best friend's uneasiness and worry. He smiled for the Uchiha, one hand grasping Sasuke's, squeezing it. A gesture that comforted and confused Sasuke. For as Naruto grabbed hold of his hand, something inside him stirred and he felt himself heating up. On the outside he seemed to be blushing. He was red all over.

"Sasuke, are you sick too?" Naruto inquired, noticing his best friend's redness. "You should lie in here too. There's still space beside me."

Naruto smiled, squeezing Sasuke's hand once again, and the Uchiha let out a deep breath. The smell of cooking noodles filled the air, however, it still smelt uncooked for Naruto. What do you know, he knows his noodles.

"Damn it Naruto I'm fine. You should be worried about yourself. It's the first time you got sick. It's very disturbing. I mean, you never got sick before, why now? Aren't you the least bit suspicious? You should be, I am." Sasuke said. '_Knowing Naruto, he'd probably say he wasn't suspicious and that we shouldn't worry about him for he's strong and he wants to be a hokage._' He thought, looking worriedly at the blonde.

Naruto was only half-listening at what the raven-haired boy said. It was like a speech to him and he never understood, nor paid attention to speeches, no matter how important it was. Speeches always bored him. He yawned, letting go of Sasuke's hand, and stretched out his hand. He closed his eyes and prepared to sleep. A knock was heard on the door.

"Sakura, Naruto's sleeping already. Just heat it up later when he wakes. I'll stay here and watch over him." He said, not wanting to let his eyes off of Naruto.

"Okay but you eat this instead, I'll cook something up for Naruto, heat it up later ok? I'm going to Konoha for Master Tsunade. I'm afraid I can't heal Naruto's sickness. A strong poison is in him. I promise to go back tomorrow. Bye." Sakura replied, placing the tray of food on the door step and walking down as fast as she could.

Sasuke paced towards the door and swung it open, the food tray was there. He picked it up, closed the door and ate, eyes wandering off to Naruto every now and then. He was leaning on the door, still watching over the blonde. As Sasuke was finishing his meal, Naruto stirred in his sleep and muttered something.

"Sasuke. Where are you? Come back here."

Sasuke just smiled and placed the tray on the floor, not wanting to leave even for a single second. A knock was heard. It was Temari saying that she'll stay watch and would just be downstairs if they needed her. A simple 'sure' was his answer and creaking of the stairs was heard. '_I should really start fixing the stairs. They're too noisy._' He thought, planning to fix it as soon as Naruto was alright. He was not that worried about Naruto anymore for Master Tsunade is sure to cure every poison and sickness and Naruto's would be no exception. Then a loud 'Sasukeeeeeeeeeee!' disturbed his thoughts. He looked over the blonde and saw that Naruto was fully awake and smiling. It seemed he had been faking sleep but he's still sick so he still can't stand up. Sasuke paced towards the bed and sat beside the lying down blonde.

"Can't you keep it down? I was trying to think." He snapped

"You think too much." Naruto said. The blonde tried to sit, Sasuke quickly came to his aid. Sasuke supported Naruto's back as the blonde tried to sit. "Sasuke, I'm hungry."

"Fine." He immediately stood up and walked to the door.

"Sasuke, don't leave me here. I'm sick remember?" Naruto pleaded, eyes asking him to stay.

"I won't be long." He smiled as he went out. Naruto actually wanted him to stay. He doesn't know why he was happy but it was okay. He walked downstairs and was about to go the kitchen when the door was opened up. Itachi and Kisame showed up. This was trouble, big trouble. '_Damn it. I have to protect MY Naruto. My Naruto? What am I thinking? Damn it, they couldn't have come at worse a time than now._'

-Hokage Tower, Konoha-

Tsunade was breathing heavily as she listened to Sakura. Heavy breathing, irregular heartbeat, rising temperature, cold skin and red blotches, all of these were worrying the household team. The number one most surprising ninja of konoha is at risk of death and Sakura proved unskilled enough to save her friend. Tears quickly fell on from both eyes. Tsunade stood up.

"I'll go. Shizune, get ready. We're going to Masaki City." The hokage commanded. Shizune nodded and quickly followed.

What's going to happen next? Let's see next chap. Till then. Ja!


End file.
